Lemon Yoghurt Loaf

Man, there are a LOT of baking blogs out there. 


Somewhere between the waiting dirty dishes, the tempting dripping caramel, and the gentle hum of ice cream churning, I lost myself. 


Where do I fit in this over-crowded world of homemade baking and self-absorbed blogging? 


It seems that every recipe is covered, every idea already thought of, the best photos have been taken, and each delicious modification already tasted. 


A million blogs and what makes mine... dare I say it... special?  


I pondered on this thought for longer than, well, I probably should have. Because, in the end, I didn't even have a good answer. I just put the worries aside and got back in the kitchen.


You know why? Because baking makes me happy! Like this ecstatic bulldog, who looks like he has never had a better day in his life. Ever. and I appreciate that. 

And blogging about it makes me feel like I have a friend in the kitchen with me!


Except it's a friend who doesn't make any suggestions along the way...


Or tell me how I should bake healthier things, use less butter and chocolate, or add vegetables to my cakes (more on that soon)... 


And they don't tell me what they'd like to eat or about how much they don't like what I'm about to make


... and they most definitely don't get in my way. 


Because it's my kitchen.






So, I followed humbly in one of my favourite blogger's footsteps and made her Lemon Yoghurt Loaf. 


Last weekend was the MS Walk and I offered to bake a treat for everyone who dragged their butt out of bed before 8 on a Sunday. 


Goodness knows, a treat for that is always needed. 


The only other time such early Sunday behaviour is acceptable is when one has a date at an always-busy, yet totally-worth-it-spot, like Medina. As I just so happen to have next weekend... GLEE!


Back to the lemon loaf. 


By now, we all know that I LOVE lemons. And this recipe was easy-peasy and lemony delicious. 


I only wish that I had taken it out of the oven 5 minutes earlier. I believe my oven has a mood disorder because in the last week it has both undercooked and overcooked what I've put in there in the amount of time that I expected it to do the opposite. 


We're going to get it re-calibrated. 




Lemon Yoghurt Loaf


1 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yoghurt
1 cup and 1 tablespoon sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest... 2 very generous teaspoons!! 
1/2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
1/2 vegetable oil 




Preheat oven to 350. Cook for 50 minutes. Or, if your oven is having a "hot" day, try 40 minutes. 


Butter and lightly flour an 8 by 4 by 2 1/2 inch loaf pan, adding parchment paper to the bottom. 


Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk yoghurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil in another bowl. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 


Pour the batter into your prepared pan... et voila! 


Once the cake is done, leave it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack. 


To make a glaze, use 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a small sauce pan. I used a full lemon's juice, closer to 1/2 cup of lemon juice, or even more. Naturally, I didn't measure it because I was in a winging-it mood and the result was no glaze, rather a sweetened lemon juice that my loaf willingly gobbled up.


I know this loaf could have been moister but no one who ate it had any criticisms - in fact, it was all compliments! 

And, while I usually quickly move on from a recipe once I've made it once, I think I might make this again. Conveniently, there are a million variations (slight exaggeration) - all of which I plan to tackle.


Enjoy your loaf!